In the fall of 1876, two Swiss spies came to America and conducted some of the most covert and consequential industrial espionage in history, changing the course of the global watch industry forever. Had the events of 1876 never happened, we would likely know little of Swiss watches today.
More than a story about watches, Disrupting Time is a true story of how technological leadership is built, how it can be quietly transferred, and how commanding advantages can erode faster than their creators expect. Spanning the years 1857 to 1900, it examines a period contemporaries called "the combat of industry," revealing how strategic choices, information asymmetry, and industrial espionage shaped global markets.
Drawing on newly surfaced archival documents, correspondence, and exhibition records, Disrupting Time tells the full story of this secret mission and its aftermath. The book explores how the Swiss did not simply copy American methods, but adapted them, transforming a cottage industry into a modern manufacturing powerhouse. Within a generation, Swiss firms had overtaken their American rivals, while Waltham entered a steep decline.
Set during the Centennial Exhibition in 1876, a great world's fair in Philadelphia, it details the story of Jacques David and Theo Gribi. Gribi and David were commissioned by the Society of Jura Industries, a Swiss trade association, to acquire the secrets of America's technology sector - the American watch industry. They captured their intelligence in a 130-page report that would remain mostly secret until 1992. Disrupting Time details the never-before-told story of David and Gribi's secrets and mission, showing how they used disguises, agent recruitments, and other classic espionage methods to steal the secrets of America's technology sector of the era.
Sinead O'Sullivan of The Currency News says "Aaron Stark says that it's a book about watches, but it's really a book about innovation, long-term thinking, and industrial policy. This is the book that you never knew you needed to read."
The former CIA officer behind Watches of Espionage calls Disrupting Time "a fantastic story of real-life 'watches of espionage.' It is a thrilling read, full of details that will change everything you thought you knew about the origin of Swiss watches - definitely not the narrative the watch industry has told you. If you are into watches, intelligence, history, or business, this book is a must read!"
Learn more at aaronstarkbooks .com
Aaron Stark is a former assistant professor of economics at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He now works in the field of business intelligence at a Fortune 300 company. He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, and a BS in Economics from West Point. Aaron has been published in Quartz, Harvard Business School Publishing, Journal of Managerial Finance; and featured in Watches of Espionage, Spycraft 101 Podcast, HUB History Boston, ABlogToWatch, and The Currency News. He is a veteran of the US Army with two combat tours in Afghanistan, serving as an Apache helicopter pilot.
